Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia

Image source: cartoonstock.com

By Beni Bevly
At work place, the more diverse the workforces are, the more potential for discrimination to happen. According to the similarity-attraction paradigm from the field of social psychology that members’ perception of others, as frequently inferred on the basis of similarity in demographic attributes, lead to attraction among team members (Tziner, 1985). For example, bio-demographic attributes such as age, gender, and race/ethnicity are immediately observed and categorized by individual members, and differences tend to be negatively associated with team performance and social integration.

Image source: worth1000.com

Managers that believe in this paradigm tend to discriminate in hiring and assigning tasks to their employees. They see that homogeneous teams are likely to be more productive than heterogeneous teams because of mutual attraction of team members with similar characteristics. In contrary, heterogeneous groups are hypothesized by them to be less productive and have lower team cohesion because of inherent tensions and relational issues arising from those differences.

It seems the similarity-attraction paradigm turns out to be the framework for Indonesian managers in hiring and assigning tasks. Because of this framework, they tend to practice discrimination. Below is one of the hiring advertising that retrieved on March 20, 2007 from www.yellowpages.co.id Indonesia:

RECEPTIONIST (RC)
Qualification :
* Age : max. 25 years old
* Sex : female
* Education : Diploma degree in related disciplines, preferable from recognized institution
* Experience about 1 – 2 years in a related task/job (Applicants without experiences will not be processed further)
* Able to speak and write in English is an added value
* Have a good relationship skills, self motivated, and able to perform under pressure
* Have a good personality, good looking and an attractive (preferably)
* Filing and administration
* Computer literate
Responsibilities :
GA Administration and receive incoming and outgoing calls and documents

On this ad, it shows maximum age, sex, and good looking. All resumes in Indonesia must be accompanied by candidate’s picture to proof how they look.

In contrary, most western managers are urged to embraced diversity and avoiding discrimination. It seems they tend believe in cognitive resources diversity theory from the field of management (Basely, 2001).

According to this area, diversity has a positive performance because cognitive resources that members bring to the team. The underlying assumption of value in diversity is that teams consisting of heterogeneous members promote creativity, innovation, and problem solving, hence generating more informed decisions. Supporters of the cognitive resources diversity theory suggest that diverse individuals with varying experimental, cultural, and racial/ethnic backgrounds add more dimensions to problem-solving and decision-making process while providing multiple perspectives on issues.

This approach automatically reduces discrimination at work place in western society. The hiring advertising that was retrieved on March 20, 2007 from sfbay.craigslist.org reflexes its working environment:

A friendly community bank in Novato is looking for an experienced receptionist with great customer service skills. Experience with Excel and Word are required. The position needs a friendly voice over the phone and a smile when greeting customers in person. You are their first point of contact. You should have knowledge of office protocol and not consider that a barrier. Organization skills, multi-tasking abilities, dependability and a great attitude are also highly regarded. Clean credit record a must.

Word and Excel skills – you must at least be able to:
format
highlight
bold
change fonts
add bullet points
copy and paste
follow a formula
create a simple formula

Health benefits are available after 90 days, 401K with matching after 6 months, 2 weeks vacation.

Please forward your resume along with a cover letter outlining your strengths and weaknesses. I look forward to hearing from you.

It emphasizes most in skills rather than age, sex and good looking.

Ironically, if you have good looking you will get hired easily in Indonesia. So where will the average or ugly people like me go?

_____
*Beni Bevly holds BA in Political Science, MBA in Marketing, and is a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) candidate. He is the founder of Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia.